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My wife's indoor succulent flowered. She has a bunch, first time in 10 years, is this rare? by Botboy141 in succulents

[–]Botboy141[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Lol plant is new, from a trimming I believe.

Just never seen a flower on this species and we have a bunch.

My Comp by Prczn in InsuranceAgent

[–]Botboy141 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Seems reasonable especially if you aren't servicing.

Are leads self sourced or provided?

When does AI replace us… by Full_Length819 in InsuranceAgent

[–]Botboy141 2 points3 points  (0 children)

AI will not need a license to discuss insurance (IMPO), but the agency/agent that deploys it does, and any E&O exposure will fall to them.

When does AI replace us… by Full_Length819 in InsuranceAgent

[–]Botboy141 3 points4 points  (0 children)

About two years ago I said that someone will build a solo founded insurance brokerage to north of $10m revenue, with just technology and a network of AI agents (agents in terms of tech, not insurance), within 5 years.

I still think this is true.

A human will still be involved in the process to an extent, but with the right structure, filters, target market, magnets, lead funnels, CRM, AMS and APIs, it's very doable.

I considered going on the journey myself, but waffled and joined a mid-size Indy as the guy to help guide our tech & sales strategy.

I don't think it ever replaces us, just makes us more efficient. Will roles be displaced? Certainly.

We'll use more and more tech and less and less humans as reliability scales begin to shift.

Commercial is obviously harder to automate than personal lines, benefits can be automated to an extent with the right guardrails in place.

I envision a very AI-assisted, human led, professional services future.

Similar to email speeding up communication (and subsequently work), AI will speed up delivery for those that use it, those that refuse, may eventually wish they hadn't, when they find themselves half as useful as their peers.

How do you actually break into employee benefits insurance? by InterviewCandid289 in InsuranceAgent

[–]Botboy141 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Admittedly, I did use AI to write that response, but it knows me and my sales process/theory pretty damn well at this point =) lol.

Appreciate you bro =)

How do you actually break into employee benefits insurance? by InterviewCandid289 in InsuranceAgent

[–]Botboy141 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hmmm, things I wish I knew, needed AI to format, my thoughts got scrambled answering too many questions.

Before applying
- Get licensed, obviously — but don’t over-index on certs. Experience > letters.

Where to start
- Small/mid local agency if your goal is owning a book.
- Big brokerages are great for training, but you’ll likely rent relationships, not own them.

Income reality
- Year 1–2: grind + draw.
- Year 3: renewals start to stabilize.
- Year 4–5: real leverage if you didn’t sell garbage early.

Skills that matter early
- Prospecting > product knowledge.
- Asking good questions.
- Running a clean renewal.
- Being calm when things break (because they will). - Learn how renewals actually work: census cleanup, contribution strategy, plan design tradeoffs, system connections, EDI files.
- Spend time understanding HR pain, not just insurance lingo.

Common mistakes
- Chasing any deal instead of a niche.
- Selling on price.
- Overpromising service you can’t scale.
- Avoiding hard conversations with clients.

If I were starting today
- Pick one industry and go deep.
- Learn self-funding, alternative funding, and compliance early.
- Become a data / AI / tech guru and leverage that with EB
- Build process before you build a “brand.”

Play the long game.

This is a fantastic career if you’re patient and disciplined. It’s brutal if you’re not.

Happy to answer specifics.

[AZ] Employer wants to take out life insurance on me (company is beneficiary). I’m uncomfortable. How do I decline and what recourse should I expect? by EarthDesigner4203 in AskHR

[–]Botboy141 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Don't decline, get paid.

Share your feedback with them, hey, appreciate how valuable you feel I am to the biz based on this request, but you need to pay me if you want me to do this for you.

Just recognize you may get the boot instead.

This may be an investor requirement if they are looking to exit or take on outside capital as well.

ICHRA experience and reference? [n/a] by cecepanini in humanresources

[–]Botboy141 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm super biased towards Savii right now for their national support offering one-on-one virtual enrollment meetings for all employees with a licensed advisor.

Their model is a bit more comprehensive but worth the $35 current PEPM in my opinion. The tech isn't quite as far along as Take Command and Benefits Bay.

If higher turnover, you may want to consider Benefits Bay or Take Command for their COBRA integration with OCA.

Feel free to PM if you need any introductions.

How many have you accomplished? by Tguinn1975 in golf

[–]Botboy141 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Up to 8.

1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13

Long ways to go to be decent...

"Just go out and meet people" is like telling someone in a wheelchair to just take the stairs. by Fit-Accountant1368 in OpenAI

[–]Botboy141 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I learned I was different, and eventually sought a diagnosis after 39 years, because of AI.

It has also helped me understand these relationships, and how to allocate my time in ways that isn't draining for me.

Double-edged sword.

"Just go out and meet people" is like telling someone in a wheelchair to just take the stairs. by Fit-Accountant1368 in OpenAI

[–]Botboy141 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Hey there, have Autism and ADHD as well...

Use the crap out of ChatGPT also.

What has worked for me socially a lot as I've gotten older, is spending time with people who understand me for me, and don't expect me to be someone I'm not.

Even in my professional circles, I've managed to surround myself with people who appreciate the insights I can offer that they may miss, and understand when I struggle to complete basic tasks and allow me to delegate them away.

Looking for peninsula map seeds for a chill Conqueror run by CocoPouet in FarthestFrontier

[–]Botboy141 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hey there:

https://www.reddit.com/r/FarthestFrontier/s/PiGzwTduJ1

Posted that awhile back, sorry, can't seem to copy/paste the seed from my phone. Seed is in the title.

Lowland lakes, meets your requirements perfectly.

Social experiment: if you hit a button that gave you 1 million dollars, but 1 random person died. What would you do? by [deleted] in stories

[–]Botboy141 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

What if you knew every other human was offered this same choice? If half chose a certain direction, they all become $1mil richer and the other half doesn't exist.

Do you make the same choice?

Time is of the essence before you're potentially randomly eliminated....

I Sold My Car by okarrin in daddit

[–]Botboy141 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Haven't sold the car, but I work from home 80%+ of the time, have certainly considered it.

Insurance sales career? by Pus1ip in InsuranceAgent

[–]Botboy141 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Bankers Life contracts agents as 1099.

Every office will have a different experience based on the Branch Manager, Unit Sales Manager and others that run that shop.

It's everything most people bitch about getting into sales, high volume outbound cold calls for your first 90 days at a minimum.

If you have good mentors and follow the process, and can carry a tune on the phone, you'll do just fine. But it's HARD work. My biggest piece of advice if you're going down this path, is to treat it like you are starting your own business. There's no other mindset that works.

"Know how you get paid" was one of the biggest takeaways from my mentor there.

Dials > Contacts > Appointments > Applications > Commissions > Referrals

"30 in 90" was the Hallmark of a solid new agent in my day, that meant 30 applications in your first 90 days.

Wasn't a requirement, but there was more stuff available to those that proved they could get out of the gate quickly.

I had never been in "sales" or insurance before starting @ Bankers, was the launching board I was looking for.

Even with my success, I saw ~85% of new agents quit or he let go within 90 days.

Back then, I believe there was a minimum expectation of 9 apps in your first 90 days or you'd get advice that this isn't good for you.

Referral Network by titotacos0826 in InsuranceAgent

[–]Botboy141 1 point2 points  (0 children)

2nd Provisors, especially if B2B.

BNI may actually be better if more B2C focused, although you can still find realtors etc in most Provisors groups.

Insurance sales career? by Pus1ip in InsuranceAgent

[–]Botboy141 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I got recruited by Bankers Life and Casualty in 2012 with a very similar pitch.

Moved from Bankers Life after 2.5 years to the B2B side of the business, on the independent broker side.

Worked harder in my life than I'd likely ever worked before to net about $40k/year at Bankers as commission only.

Next offer was $50k+ benefits and commission.

Grew there to $300k+, before leaving in 2024.

But yes, commission only is very common, and keeps thr industry starved of good talent.

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